Abigail: the peacemaker

I have always had a great admiration for Abigail. Her name means “my father’s joy” and she was a very special woman. Abigail was generous, quick-witted and wise. Her great sorrow was to be mismatched with her husband, Nabal, who was her complete opposite. As Abigail was humble, faithful, generous and intelligent, Nabal was arrogant, greedy, selfish and egoistic. She probably had a lot of heartache and sleepless nights dealing with her husband and his cruel ways. However, her great joy is that God used her to save lives and gain peace after her husband’s great insult. She eventually would become David’s wife. The Talmud identifies Abigail as one of the seven female prophets (Megillah 15a) (Adelman, 2021). Why is Abigail an important person in the Bible? How was she a peacemaker? What lessons can we learn from her story?

Abigail must have left suffocated to be married to such a fool of a husband. The wealthy Nabal would have been quite a catch, but he had a domineering attitude that one day would endanger the lives of many. The news of David and his victories had been spreading. Abigail had heard the story of his defeat of Goliath as well as his prowess in battle and his rift with King Saul. Recently, David had taken refuge in her area, the Desert of Maon, west of the Dead Sea. And since his arrival with 600 men, marauders kept clear of the local flocks, including Nabal’s and he greatly prospered. One day, David sent 10 men to ask Nabal for provisions and Nabal responded with a scoff and refused, foolishly insulting the region’s most powerful man. Aware of the danger they were in, the servants ran to Abigail and begged her to intervene. She quickly sprang into action. Gathering a caravan of donkeys, loaded with gifts for David and his men, taking them to David’s camp. Once there, she makes a speech that corrects the wrong and avoids the bloodshed that was coming. The next morning, she tells Nabal what she had done and he collapses. Ten days later he died. When David heard the news of Nabal’s death, he proposed marriage to Abigail, which she accepted and she became his third wife. 

If there is a theme to Abigail’s story, it would be peacemaker. Proverbs 12:20 says “There is deceit in the hearts of those who plot evil, but joy for those who promote peace.” Abigail is known as one of the Bible’s great peacemakers. When she had heard what Nabal had done, she knew immediately what she needed to do. She gathered supplies and went out to meet David. When she sees him, she falls at his feet and gives one of the longest speeches recorded in the Bible by a woman (1 Samuel 25:24-31). First, she takes the responsibility for Nabal’s faux pas and begs to be allowed to speak (verse 24). Second, she begs David to forgive Nabal for he lives up to his name, The Fool (verse 25) and states she didn’t see his men arrive. Third, she seeks forgiveness and prays for the Lord’s blessings on David’s endeavors (verse 26-31). With her speech, David erases his anger and offers his forgiveness. Abigail saved the lives of every man in Nabal’s household (1 Samuel 25:32-34). She also saved David from sin, reminding him that vengeance belongs to the Lord (Deuteronomy 32:35). Even when she went home, she didn’t immediately tell Nabal what she did. She wanted until he was sober. Abigail simply tells him what had happened and his “heart failed him” (1 Samuel 25:37) and he collapses and dies 10 days later. Just as Abigail kept the peace between Nabal and David, she kept the peace between herself and her husband. 

There are lessons we can learn from Abigail’s story. First, life’s tough situations can bring the best out of people. People would understand if Abigail was broken and weak under her husband’s “surly and mean dealings” (1 Samuel 25:3). She was very much in a toxic relationship (McDaniel, 2021). But difficult situations help us develop a strength and perseverance that we didn’t know. She sprang into action to right the wrong instead of running and hiding.  Second, be humble, kind and seek peace with those around you. Even though the offense wasn’t committed by her, Abigail was determined to soothe David’s anger for the sake of the innocent lives that would have been taken. She took a risk, taking responsibility for something she didn’t do and not knowing how David would respond (McDaniel, 2021), it could have easily been her head instead of Nabal’s. But she spoke with humility, kindness and sought forgiveness on Nabal’s behalf. Third, our words and actions are powerful. We need to carefully and thoughtfully consider each one before we speak because once words are said, they cannot be taken back. Her action was the carefully gathered provisions, probably more than the original amount David’s men asked for. She then reminded David that God had done great things in his life and would continue to do great things (McDaniel, 2021) and not to allow one man’s folly to destroy that. 

In conclusion, Abigail was a woman who rose above her circumstances to change the course of events. Although her culture and husband put a low value on her, she used her skills and opportunity to defuse an explosive situation. I think it is telling that the servants came to her. They probably knew she would know how to rectify the situation. She was capable, sensible and able to see beyond herself. She saw the bigger picture and acted accordingly. Do you see the bigger picture? Abigail was a peacemaker in a grand way, but we can all promote peace in small ways every day. How can you promote peace? Using Abigail’s example, we can seek to make the most out of a difficult situation with humility, kindness and choosing our words and actions carefully.

References

Adelman, Rachel (June 23, 2021) . Abigail: Bible. Jewish Women’s Archive. https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/abigail-bible. Retrieved August 29, 2021. 

McDaniel, Debbie (August 24, 2021). 5 Things All Women Can Learn from Abigail in the Bible. iBelieve. https://www.ibelieve.com/faith/things-women-learn-from-abigail-bible.html. Retrieved August 29, 2021. 

Michal: the story of love turned into bitterness

Michal was the daughter of Saul and David’s first wife. She was a woman of strong emotions who often found herself unable to control the important circumstances of her life. She was a woman who could think and act quickly when it was needed, but she would also lie when under pressure and allowed herself to become bitter. She would find herself ensnared in the drawn out battle between her father and her husband, which would leave her bitter and resentful. She would, for a time, share a passionate love with her husband. It is the only time in the Bible that a woman is described as loving a man (1 Samuel 18:20). But that love would turn cold. What is her story? How did she turn from a woman in love to one who hated her husband? What lessons can we learn from her story? 

Her story is short, spanning decades but two main details are known about her. Her love for David and later her resentment toward him. She loved David since he was a shepherd boy who felled the mighty Goliath. There are two parts to Michal’s story. In Part 1, she is a woman in love. She helps him escape from her father’s pursuing army. Lies to her father’s guards to buy him time. In Part 2, she is queen as David is now king. She is horrified as she watches, from a window, as her husband dances and leaps as the Ark of the Covenant is brought into the city of Jerusalem. Her love has turned to loathing. She confronts him, telling him that a king should not act in such a way. David responds that he danced for the Lord and no one else (2 Samuel 6:21-22). The distance between them grew and their silence thickened like ice. The Bible’s last statement on Michal says she spent the rest of her life alone and childless (2 Samuel 6:23).

At the heart of her story is worship. Worship can take several forms in prayer, song, dancing and musical instruments. For many people, there are only right ways to worship. The person who sings off key with tears rolling down their face is truly worshipping as the person who sings perfectly and subdued. But what many people forget is that at the center of worship is the heart and a life dedicated to God. God makes it clear he won’t be satisfied with only the forms of worship, because that is not the focus. If a person’s heart is not for God, then their worship is meaningless, empty. True worship, whether it is dancing wildly as David did, or the person singing off-key, is a joyful noise to the Lord (Psalm 100:1-2). Michal’s contempt for David’s worship shows her own lack of true dedication to the Lord. She was content to be a critical spectator rather than a true worshipper. It may also be jealousy that if David had such love and devotion for the Lord, she may have thought he didn’t love her. Maybe she wanted that love all to herself. 

Michal is an example of how quickly life’s unexpected turns can make us bitter, if we do not guard our hearts with care. Bitterness will make a bad situation worse. What fueled Michal’s bitterness? Was it because she was a mere pawn in the battle between her father and her husband? The Bible doesn’t speak if she had any faith, did she go through the motions like her father? Whatever the reason, Michal grew to be more like her father than David. Like her father, her heart for David went from love to hate. She was a victim; but being a victim doesn’t excuse her behavior. Even victims have choices. The power to choose the attitude of our hearts. We are not responsible for all that happens to us, but we are responsible for how we respond. The Bible doesn’t tell us why Michal remained childless. Was it because God didn’t allow her to conceive? Or is it possible that the coldness between them, resulted in David setting her aside for one of his other wives that would follow? 

In conclusion, Michal was a woman driven by love and bitterness. She helps the man she loves escape the murderous intent of her father but later becomes bitter toward the same man. She despised David, in her eyes, for his wanton worship. The heart behind worship is more important than the method of worship. Whether someone is dancing in the streets or singing off-key, as long as the heart is filled with love and appreciation for the Lord, it is pleasing to him. This concept is what Michal misses. Maybe she wasn’t a woman of faith. She may not have believed as David did. Whether way, Michal lives out her life alone, possibly forgotten. The main lesson from her story is we control how we respond to life’s circumstances. We either play the victim and sulk or we rise to the challenge and learn to move forward. 

David: lessons in faith, forgiveness and accepting God's plan

David is considered one of the greatest men in the Old Testament. From his humble beginnings as a shepherd boy, he was chosen by God to be become king. He is a poet, writing many of the 150 Psalms. He slayed the giant Goliath when no one else dared to try. He would be an ancestor of Jesus. His son, Solomon, would be known as the wisest king in the world. However, he was also a liar, adulterer and a murderer. Despite his flaws, David was considered a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22). Through his strengths and weaknesses, his successes and failures, we can learn from David’s example. God looks in our heart first when calling us to serve. Forgiveness of our sins does not remove the consequences of sin. Accepting when God answers our prayers with “no” for He has something greater planned for us.

First, God sees our heart when calling us to serve. In David, God saw a man who had an unwavering faith. In David, God saw a man who loved him and wished to serve him to the best of his abilities. In 1 Samuel 16:7, God tells Samuel “…the Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart” when He called David to be the anointed king. God saw that David’s heart sought Him. He trusted Him and worshipped Him in all he did. David was outraged that Goliath, the Philistine, dared dare defy God (1 Samuel 17:26). David saw a mortal man defying almighty God. He knew he would not fight alone. God would fight with him. 1 Samuel 17:46, David says “…I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” And when David was successful, he attributed his success to God. Not his own strength or cunning but to God. When the ark was returned to Jerusalem, David danced and leaped in front of the ark as it entered the city. His wife, Michal, would despise him due to his actions and confront David about his behavior. David replies, “It was before the Lord….I will celebrate before the Lord” (2 Samuel 6:21). You may ask, what does David’s faith have to do with me? David was the youngest son of a shepherd but God saw in his heart a desire to serve him. God made him king of Israel. He became a very important ancestor in the genealogy of Jesus. I believe that God will reward us beyond our wildest dreams for our faith and desire to serve Him.

Second, forgiveness of our sins does not remove the consequences. The best example of this is David’s affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah. As told in 2 Samuel 11-12, King David sees the beautiful Bathsheba bathing one night. He sends for her to his room where he sleeps with her, knowing full well that she is another man’s wife (2 Samuel 11:3-4). When David gets word that Bathsheba has become pregnant, he tries to cover up his sin by bringing Uriah home from the battlefield to sleep with his wife and trick him into thinking he is the father (2 Samuel 11:6-13) When this fails, David sends Uriah to the front line where the fighting is the fiercest (2 Samuel 11:15) and Uriah is killed. David later marries Bathsheba and she gives birth to a son. Nathan, the Lord’s prophet, comes to David and confronts him. David immediately seeks forgiveness and he is forgiven but the consequence of his sin will be the death of his son. (2 Samuel 12:3-4). Sin has irreversible consequences. The saying “it is better to seek forgiveness than ask permission” simply isn’t true. “I’m sorry” doesn’t erase the hurt and devastation caused by a sin. You may ask why the child had to die. To me, the child’s death was a greater punishment to David than his own. Knowing the consequence could be the death of an innocent child. Therefore, be quick to seek forgiveness and confess our sins but be prepared for consequences of those sins.

Third, accepting when God answers our prayers with “no” is one of the hardest aspects of faith. Despite his faith and heart for God, David was not allowed to build a temple for the ark, a “home” for the Lord. David wanted to build a place for the ark of God, which remained in a tent while David lived in a palace (2 Samuel 7:2). The prophet, Nathan, tells him to go ahead and build the temple but receives a message from God that that was not his desire (2 Samuel 7:3-16). In this message, the Lord tells David that his job is to unite the people of Israel as one nation. This task would require a great deal of David’s time and energy and a great deal of bloodshed as he would defeat Israel’s enemies. And David’s son will build the temple (2 Samuel 7:12-13). David’s request was good. He had the best intentions when he wanted to build a temple for the Lord. But the Lord had a greater plan for David and told him no. When I pray, even though I desire God to tell me yes, I always remember that God answers prayers in three ways: yes, no and not yet. It takes great faith to hear “no” or “not yet” as God has a greater plan for me in my future. Maybe I am not ready for my request to be fulfilled. Maybe He sees something else in my future, something better than I was asking for. Whatever the reason for God’s answer, I know that when He answers “no,” He still loves me. There have been many times when I prayed for something and it didn’t happen. However, down the road I was blessed with something greater and better. I know it was God finally saying “yes.”

In conclusion, David was a great man of faith who performed great feats for the Lord. He had a heart to serve God and a faith to help him in uncertain situations. However, he was a man who faltered and sinned. No matter what his sin was, he was quick to confess his wrongdoings and seek forgiveness from God. We can see David’s life as an example of how a faithful man lives. He wasn’t perfect. He failed, he sinned but he always sought after God. He lived a life to please God and not others. He also accepted when God answered his prayers with “no.” Can you imagine what blessings God could bestow on us if we had a heart and faith like David’s? If we were quick to confess our sins and seek forgiveness? And if we were more willing to accept God’s “no” as an answer to our prayers?